Many important optical materials exhibit birefringence. Birefringence means that different linear polarizations of light travel at different speeds through the material. These different polarizations are most often considered as two components of the polarized light, one being orthogonal to the other.
Birefringence is an intrinsic property of many optical materials, and may also be induced by external forces. Retardation or retardance represents the integrated effect of birefringence acting along the path of a light beam traversing the sample. If the incident light beam is linearly polarized, two orthogonal components of the polarized light will exit the sample with a phase difference, called the retardance. The fundamental unit of retardance is length, such as nanometers (nm). It is frequently convenient to express retardance in units of phase angle (waves, radians, or degrees) which is proportional to the retardance (nm) divided by the wavelength of the light (nm). An "average" birefringence for a sample is sometimes computed by dividing the measured retardation magnitude by the thickness of the sample.
The two orthogonal polarization components described above are parallel to two orthogonal axes, which are determined by the sample and are called the "fast axis" and the "slow axis." The fast axis is the axis of the material that aligns with the faster moving component of the polarized light through the sample. Therefore, a complete description of the retardance of a sample along a given optical path requires specifying both the magnitude of the retardance and the relative angular orientation of the fast (or slow) axis.
The need for precise measurement of birefringence properties has become increasingly important in a number of technical applications. For instance, it is important to specify and control the residual linear birefringence (hence, the attendant induced retardance) in optical elements used in high precision instruments employed in semiconductor and other industries. The optics industry thus has a need for a highly sensitive instrument for measuring linear birefringence in optical components. This need has been largely unmet, especially with respect to measurements of low levels of retardance.